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Exploratory insights into the graduate student experiences of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam are presented. Students are considered key stakeholders in the higher education (HE) debate, and their views were sought in light of recent shifts in HE worldwide, associated business education changes, nagging questions around the quality of MBA programmes, and the need to consider how all these factors might influence the MBA student experience in a developing economy such as Vietnam. The literature confirms a disconnection between what management education providers offer in MBA programmes and what management education users (here, students) are actually receiving, especially when compared to student expectations, needs and outcomes. Here, a portion of the findings from a larger exploratory, descriptive qualitative study, located in Vietnam, is presented. Graduate students’ views as to what they were seeking when enroling in offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam, and how the programme subsequently met their needs, are shared. Recommendations are made as to potential improvements in curricula design, review, administration, and processes in response to these findings. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Findings from an exploratory, descriptive qualitative study, located in Vietnam, are presented. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with graduates of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam, drawn from the graduates of three case study HE provider organisations. Interviews were transcribed verbatim in Vietnamese, then translated into English.

Graduates’ views as stakeholders in the provision of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam are shared. Qualitative analysis revealed evidence of their attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge relating to offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam. The narratives and interpretations offer insights into both the perceived benefits and limitations, and empirical evidence as to whether graduates’ original expectations were met.

This was a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study, deliberately undertaken in the absence of others like it in the literature. The research relies upon interview and focus group data gathered from three case study organisations and exploring the perceptions of three different stakeholder groups: graduates of offshore MBA programmes (findings shared here); employers of offshore MBA graduates; and MBA programme providers (including programme managers, administrators and/or teaching staff). This paper includes only the perspective of graduates of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam, on the basis that rich exploratory information can be derived from a few cases (Perry, 1998).

The literature confirms a potential for disconnection between what management education providers offer in MBA programmes and what management education graduates actually receive, compared to graduate’s original expectations, needs and wants. Here, empirical evidence of this intersection is examined.

The graduate narratives share crucial exploratory evidence offering a better understanding of the needs and expectations of MBA graduates who might be considering enroling in offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam. These findings are especially important with regard to understanding the sustainability and value of offshore MBA programmes being delivered in Vietnam, especially given the country’s current state of economic, political and cultural transition, and the associated need for businesses and workers to be able to operate successfully in an international business environment.

No previous studies evaluating the value of MBA programmes in Vietnam have been located. At a time when Vietnam is in economic, cultural, and political transition, knowledge to assist and support their HE sector is crucial. Recommendations are made as to potential improvements in Vietnamese offshore MBA programme curricula design, review, administration, and processes in response to these findings.

The objective of the article is to determine the numerical increase in publications on green libraries and the dynamics of its development as well as to determine the thematic structure of the scientific literature in the field of green libraries and its changes as a representation of research in this area.

The research material consisted of publications on green libraries published between 1991 and 2020, indexed in the Web of Science database. The bibliometric method was used to determine the numerical increase in publications on green libraries and the dynamics of its development. In order to characterize the thematic structure of publications representing research in this area, content analysis was performed.

Quantitative analysis of the literature on green libraries has shown that this is a new area of research not explored with constant intensity. The time of publishing materials on green libraries can be divided into two periods: the so-called period of first publications between 1991 and 2006, and the period between 2007 and 2020, when the number of publications increased relatively systematically. The content analysis confirmed the hypothesis that the most frequent theme is the issue of a green building and its management. It showed that the period after 2010 is the time of building a theoretical framework for a new research field, i.e. green libraries.

The main value of the article is the performance of a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the scientific literature indexed in the Web of Science devoted to green libraries, from the moment of the first publications to the present day. The codebook developed for the needs of content analysis can constitute the basis for the development of criteria for the evaluation of green libraries and guidelines for their organization.

This paper aims to assess the extent to which Rwanda is prepared to deal with the menace of money laundering, a threat that may well stunt its ambitions to build a strong economy.

This paper used desktop research based on primary and secondary sources. It is based on a review of relevant conventions laws and policies constituting the anti-money laundering legal regime.

Rwanda’s responses are not strong enough to curb the ever growing risk of money laundering. Rwandan economic structure may easily accommodate launderers, given the development policies relating to investments positive political will may help to pre-empt the increase in the crime.

Neither academic, editorial or any work whatsoever have been conducted regarding Money Laundering in Rwanda nor has the prosecution ever submitted a case in the courts at least to pave the prosecutorial strategy in the cases of money laundering. This work is of its own and has been reviewed by well-known professors in the domain, namely, Prof Lovell Fernandez, the Director of South African Germany Center for Transnational Criminal Justice.

This study aims to present an overview of leading research trends in the lean six sigma domain published in the International Journal of Lean Six Sigma (IJLSS) since its inception.

The study analyses articles published between 2010 and 2019 in IJLSS using the bibliometric technique. The results of data analysis identify the most prolific authors, their affiliation, citation trends and highly cited articles from the journal. Further, a graphical analysis involving bibliographic coupling and co-citation analysis of the corpus enriches the investigation.

The results of the bibliometric analysis suggest that the number of IJLSS’s publications and citations grew markedly over time (from 4 citations in 2010 to nearly 1,324 in 2019). The organizational diversity and collaboration among authors publishing in IJLSS are trending upwards. Case study and focus group are the two most common research designs in publications. In the study, three major themes emerged: implementation of lean on business, integration of lean and six sigma and the effects of lean six sigma on businesses.

The study finding informs and educates practitioners and scholars about various qualitative research tools, applications and methods of implementing lean six sigma tools in different industry sectors.

The study uses bibliometric analysis to propose a novel categorization of research published in IJLSS and to report on the utilization of various lean tools in the journal. The study provides guidance for new future research besides offering a thorough introspection of the lean and six sigma domains.

Top management commitment (TMC) and prosocial voice behaviour in Lean teams are vital for the successful Lean implementation. This study aims to investigate how TMC influences Lean team members’ prosocial voice behaviour and how such changed voice behaviour affects the outcome of Lean implementations.

The authors have used a qualitative research methodology to examine six dimensions of TMC (communication, involvement, support, empowerment, encouragement and monitoring) in two ready-made garment (RMG) factories in Bangladesh. Operational performance was measured by efficiency, quality, value stream mapping, single-minute exchange dies and 5S scores. Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) was assessed by acceptable head and back positions, machine safety, use of masks and housekeeping.

The findings reveal that TMC influences Lean team members' voice behaviour positively and, thereby, company's performance. Six dimensions of TMC are all critical for mobilizing prosocial voice, which then improves productivity, OHS and enhancing employee capacity and job satisfaction.

This research involved two sewing lines in two RMG factories in Bangladesh. Cross-sector and large-scale international quantitative research is also needed.

This research shows how TMC and Lean problem-solving teams can mobilize employee voice.

Employee voice is a central issue in the implementation of Lean. To the best of the author’s knowledge, for the first time, the authors show how the six dimensions of TMC influence Lean team members’ voice behaviour in the workplace and thereby how prosocial voice affects team performance.

Health-care organisations face many challenges in delivering safe, high-quality services while experiencing significant pressure to increase productivity and reduce costs. In this context, hospitals have implemented lean six sigma (LSS) programmes to improve their performance. This study aims to explore the application of LSS in three different non-profit Ecuadorian hospitals to comprehend the effectiveness of the methodology under this context.

A multiple-case analysis was performed in four phases: selecting the cases, defining a data collection protocol, performing a within-case analysis of each case and performing a cross-case analysis.

This research found that the LSS application positively impacts hospital performance indicators by reducing service time. The most frequently used tools include the supplier input process output customer diagram, value stream mapping, cause-and-effect diagram, five-why analysis, Gemba walk and paired two-sample test. Lastly, the results show that the most common challenges faced were lack of top management engagement, technical training and data availability.

The study is limited by the constraint of a single Latin American country from which the cases were analysed. Collaboration with external partners, like universities, and government policies promoting training in continuous improvement methodologies are crucial for success. Academic implications stress the importance of integrating soft skills in LSS implementation and engineering education.

This study shows a multiple-case analysis of LSS in a Latin American country highlighting the most commonly used tools, their impact on performance and the challenges of implementing LSS in health-care organisations in non-profit Ecuadorian hospitals.

Some Six Sigma (SS) efforts have not been entirely successful. This research paper aims to investigate the leadership style and the elements of it that positively influence the attainment of Six Sigma programs within the automobile industry.

The study used a Likert-scale questionnaire and a simple random sampling method. 2,325 potential participants were approached, resulting in 573 responses, primarily from Germany, the United Kingdom and Sweden. 260 completed questionnaires were included in the analysis, utilizing an exploratory and mixed-methods research design to examine the impact of leadership style on Six Sigma success. Statistical methods such as SEM, EFA and CFA were used for data analysis.

The study utilized numerous SEM methods, including Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and identified three key elements of leadership traits: (1) leadership support for long-term improvement strategies; (2) leadership commit to the supplier's organization to maintain quality and supply defect-free products.

Due to limited participants, the outcome of the research could lead to inadequacies in data interpretation regarding the contextual predispostions, and the research could develop weaknesses in the form of cross-sectional instead of longitudinal data and design.

The practical implications of this study suggest that institutions, practitioners and researchers can incorporate these two identified factors into leadership traits to promote the sustainable implementation of Six Sigma (SS) initiatives.

This study makes an original contribution to the assessment of leadership style and its elements in the European automobile industry, utilizing a mixed-methods research design along with descriptive statistics to provide valuable insights.

The purpose of this paper is to implement the six sigma (SS) strategy in a bag sector under actual operating circumstances based on defining-measure-analyze-improve and control (DMAIC). During the project, several statistical tools and methods have been used efficiently to create inferences. Thus, to measure and enhance system efficiency, the author calculate reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM) indices. Based on this research, the author show how the SS method and RAM analysis are very helpful in determining maintenance intervals, as well as in planning and organizing the appropriate maintenance strategy.

This study introduces the step-by-step application of the DMAIC methodology for the identification and reduction of bag production line downtime and examines the present operations management. Thus, statistical techniques are used to analyze the failure and repair database. Pareto analysis, histograms and descriptive statistics at the machine and line-level of the historical data were conducted. Trend and serial correlation testing validated the hypothesis of independence and identical distribution of database was performed. In addition, with their best fit allocation, the RAM of both the bag production line and its machines was estimated at separate mission times.

The main goals of the applied method are to understand the nature of the downtime patterns and to accurately and quantitatively estimate the RAM characteristics of the bag production system. The assessment defines the production line's critical points, requiring further enhancement through an efficient maintenance approach. Therefore, by improving plant efficiency and safety, the author can decrease unplanned downtime and equipment failures.

This research is expected to serve as an attempt to conduct SS DMAIC methodology through RAM assessment and its impact on system efficiency under actual circumstances. The benefit of the methodology is that the manufacturing process is continuously monitored by suitable indicators, the use of which leads to a continuous improvement cycle.

The effectiveness of Six Sigma programs has varied across different industries and organizations, and leadership styles have been identified as a critical success factor for the installation of Six Sigma initiatives. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the specific elements of leadership styles that are linked with the successful deployment of Six Sigma programs in the automobile industry.

To conduct the study, the researchers utilized a Likert scale questionnaire with a rating system of 1–7 and a simple random sampling method. The survey was distributed to 2,325 potential participants, with 573 responses received, mostly from Germany, the United Kingdom and Sweden. Out of those responses, 260 completed questionnaires were received. The study utilized a mixed-methods research design and exploratory research approaches to investigate the implication of leadership style on the success of Six Sigma implementation. The research employed several analysis techniques, including Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Survey methods.

Through various SEM methods, such as EFA and CFA, the study revealed two vital leadership elements: (1) the long-term success of Six Sigma depends on leadership’s support and recognition of it as an improvement strategy and (2) leadership must commit to the organization’s suppliers to ensure quality and the provision of defect-free products.

By incorporating the identified key elements of leadership into their strategies, organizations and researchers can ensure the sustainable implementation of Six Sigma.

This research presents a distinct contribution to the evaluation of leadership style components within the European automotive sector, utilizing a mixed-methods research design and incorporating a variety of descriptive statistics.

This paper aims to develop an initial understanding of the Lean Six Sigma methodology since its inception and examine the few Lean Six Sigma dimensions as a research domain through a critical review of the literature.

The paper is structured in two-part. The first part of the paper attempts to dwell on the evolution of the Lean Philosophy and Six Sigma methodology individually and the emergence of Lean Six Sigma methodology, covered under the Lean Six Sigma: a historical outline section. The second part of the study examines the dimensions associated with Lean Six Sigma such as frameworks, critical success factors, critical failure factors, type of industry, performance metric, year, publisher and journal, based on a total of 223 articles published in 72 reputed journals from the year 2000 to 2019 as a literature review.

The adoption of Lean Six Sigma, as a continuous improvement methodology, has grown enormously in the manufacturing and few service sectors such as health care and higher education during the past decade. The study revealed that researchers came out with conceptual frameworks for the implementation of Lean Six Sigma, whereas the validation through case studies seems to be lacking. The integration of Lean Six Sigma and other approaches with a focus on sustainability and the environment has emerged as a research field. A few of the most common critical success and failure factors were identified from the articles studied during the study.

This paper may not have included some of the studies due to the inaccessibility and selection criteria followed for the study.

This paper will provide an initial introduction on Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma and research insights Lean Six Sigma to beginners such as students, researchers and entry-level professionals.